TY - JOUR
T1 - Immunology in the clinic review series; focus on cancer
T2 - Tumour-associated macrophages: Undisputed stars of the inflammatory tumour microenvironment
AU - Allavena, P.
AU - Mantovani, A.
PY - 2012/2
Y1 - 2012/2
N2 - Mononuclear phagocytes are cells of the innate immunity that defend the host against harmful pathogens and heal tissues after injury. Contrary to expectations, in malignancies, tumour-associated macrophages (TAM) promote disease progression by supporting cancer cell survival, proliferation and invasion. TAM and related myeloid cells [Tie2 + monocytes and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC)] also promote tumour angiogenesis and suppress adaptive immune responses. These divergent biological activities are mediated by macrophages/myeloid cells with distinct functional polarization, which are ultimately dictated by microenvironmental cues. Clinical and experimental evidence has shown that cancer tissues with high infiltration of TAM are associated with poor patient prognosis and resistance to therapies. Targeting of macrophages in tumours is considered a promising therapeutic strategy: depletion of TAM or their 're-education' as anti-tumour effectors is under clinical investigation and will hopefully contribute to the success of conventional anti-cancer treatments.
AB - Mononuclear phagocytes are cells of the innate immunity that defend the host against harmful pathogens and heal tissues after injury. Contrary to expectations, in malignancies, tumour-associated macrophages (TAM) promote disease progression by supporting cancer cell survival, proliferation and invasion. TAM and related myeloid cells [Tie2 + monocytes and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC)] also promote tumour angiogenesis and suppress adaptive immune responses. These divergent biological activities are mediated by macrophages/myeloid cells with distinct functional polarization, which are ultimately dictated by microenvironmental cues. Clinical and experimental evidence has shown that cancer tissues with high infiltration of TAM are associated with poor patient prognosis and resistance to therapies. Targeting of macrophages in tumours is considered a promising therapeutic strategy: depletion of TAM or their 're-education' as anti-tumour effectors is under clinical investigation and will hopefully contribute to the success of conventional anti-cancer treatments.
KW - Angiogenesis
KW - Cancer
KW - Inflammation
KW - Myeloid cells
KW - Tumour-associated macrophages
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1365-2249.2011.04515.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1365-2249.2011.04515.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 22235995
AN - SCOPUS:84855817522
VL - 167
SP - 195
EP - 205
JO - Clinical and Experimental Immunology
JF - Clinical and Experimental Immunology
SN - 0009-9104
IS - 2
ER -